4 Months Until Thailand

My girlfriend Liz getting ready to do some muay thai training in preparation for Thailand!

It’s days like today I realize how lucky I am. Why today?

Because today marks the 2 year anniversary with my girlfriend Liz, and it also marks about 4 months until we make the move to Thailand to pursue our dreams and start new lives.

Since we first starting dating we’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve persevered through them all. During my training camps she has been my backbone helping me deal with weight cuts, injuries, and other challenges that came up. We make each other better individuals and I have yet to lose a fight since I’ve been with her, so needless to say she’s my good luck charm!

I’m sure you’ve had enough of the sappy, lovey-dovey crap already, so I’ll get into the part that you’re probably more interested in… living and training in Thailand.

How We Decided To Move To Thailand

It’s weird how things work out isn’t it?

Initially my girlfriend and I moved down to the NYC so she could go to school and I could be closer to the great fight scene NY has to offer. Our plan was to stay in New York for two years until she graduated with a bachelors degree, this way she would have a degree as a safety net in case living an entrepreneurial life didn’t work. After she graduated, then we would move to Thailand by saving money for the 2-3 years we were in NY. But, when she missed the deadline to sign up for her classes, it opened up opportunities elsewhere.

I suggested that we should move to Thailand when the lease is up in March, and to my surprise, Liz was 100% down with it.

So here we are, 4 months away from making this trip that is going to be a life changing experience.

You might be wondering how we are going to manage living in Thailand. I do too! It’s going to be a risk we are willing to take so we have the opportunity to chase our dreams and live a life worth remembering.

Our Savings Plan For Thailand

We have had to do a lot of work upfront to make the Thailand trip realistic… shit, we still have a lot of work to do!

The most important thing we’ve done so far to help ensure our move to Thailand will happen was creating a joint savings account where we both made deposits regularly. At first it was going great and we were well on our way to reaching our goal of $11,000, but life gets in the way and shit happens.

First, my arm broke, and that fucked a lot of things up. Yes I won the fight and got a belt in the process, but I had to stop doing private training sessions with my clients which was the money I was putting into the savings account. Plus, having one arm to type and work on my website was a major pain in the ass too.

Second, my girlfriends job got ridiculously slow. She works as a bartender at a Beer Garden here in the city. Obviously we knew that she wouldn’t be making as much money in the fall/winter season because it’s a huge outdoor venue that holds events, but we didn’t know it would slow down this much.

Third, I really don’t make that much money from this website, and I definitely don’t make enough to save after rent, food, utilities and other expenses are paid for. So we’ve basically been at a stand-still with our savings at around $6000.

We still have our security deposit to get back when the lease is up, but we probably won’t get the full amount back because of some of the damage on the walls (I suck at hanging stuff up). We also still have to sell her car (which has been a huge money pit) and some of our furniture including our TV. So we do have a little more money coming in that will help with the cause.

Another smart thing we did was get Travel Rewards credit cards. This is going to help us pay for a portion of our flights so we won’t have to drop some major dough on it. I also have another credit card with cash points that we will put towards paying for the plane tickets, so hopefully it won’t be anywhere near full price.

Our Living Plans In Thailand

I get super excited talking about this, so excuse my giddyness.

We are going to be staying on a small island called Koh Phangan, which is east of Phuket and south of Bangkok. It’s known for it’s beautiful beaches, full-moon parties and relaxing environment. I know, how can it be a party island and a relaxing getaway at the same time? Well, the full moon party only happens every once in awhile and it’s only on one part of the island, which we will most likely not be near.

Don’t get me wrong, we might do one full moon party, but it’s definitely not our priority.

Liz’s priority is yoga. She will be taking a yoga teacher training certification once we get there and be starting her own blog about women’s fitness to help them get in better shape and feel better about themselves. If you’re interested in following her part of the journey, I’ll definitely be linking to her stuff once she launches it.

A sunset at Koh Phangan

My plan is obviously, beast it at muay thai. I know that the best training is probably in Bangkok, but I’m moving to Thailand to get away from the city… I’m not a fan of like big city life.

The island has some muay thai gyms that I’m interested in, mainly Diamond Muay Thai because of their reputation and I’ve been in contact with one their owners, Simon. Ideally I will be fighting often, training every day and exploring the island whenever we have free time, I can’t wait!

We also plan on making trips during our time there to other countries (mainly during visa runs) and other parts of Thailand like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Phuket, Krabi and others. If you have any advice or suggestions on where we should go, make sure to let me know in the comments below!

Throughout our journey, I will be keeping this training journal with videos, pictures and updates on everything that is happening in my life while I’m in Thailand. I’ll have my training videos including technique and drill tutorials, along with all my fight videos while I’m there.

I’ll also do my best to supply you with everything you need to know about living, training and fighting muay thai in Thailand. I’ll break down the costs for living and training, as well as the cost of foods, massages, entertainment and everything else we end up doing. If there is anything specific that you want me to go over just let me know!

What I’ll Be Doing Until Thailand and What I Plan On Doing After

As of right now I’m getting back into a good flow of training while building the website and getting everything done that needs to be done in order for us to fly out in March. When we move to Thailand, it’s a one way plane ticket, so that means we will be staying there indefinitely without any preconceived plans of when we are coming back. Ideally we will be there for a little over a year while we work on building our businesses, skills and work on our personal development.

Me and my epic Thailand beard after my last KO win in Thailand.

My left arm is still healing, but hopefully I will be able to get at least one more amateur fight here in NY to test out my arm before heading to Thailand. I’ve thought about turning pro, but knowing that I’m moving to Thailand gave me the idea to work on areas of my game that I know are lacking so when I do turn pro, I’ll be a fucking animal.

By the time I’m back in the US (or wherever we plan on going after Thailand) I will be a much more well-rounded fighter with a shit ton more ring experience. Ideally I’ll be able to line up fights with top promotions like Glory or Lion Fights so I can start the final stage of my dream, which is to become a professional champion.

Life is crazy though, and a lot of things can happen from now until then, so I’m staying as focused as possible and willing to make the sacrifices to reach my goals.

I appreciate you and all the rest of my fans and followers for believing in me and helping me get to this point of my career. Without your support I would not be where I am today. I can’t thank you enough.

If you have any questions or suggestions related to what you’d like me to cover in my training journal while I’m either preparing or living in Thailand, just scroll down and leave them in the comment section below. Let the countdown begin!

Comments 0

When you’re in Phuket make your way to Manop Gym. One of the best places I went to. I wasn’t there long enough that I needed to make a visa run, but I’ve heard that you can pay anyone with a boat a fraction of the price of what some visa run services charge you. Good luck and have fun!

Sean, waddup! CONGRATS on making the decision to move…it takes balls & courage 🙂 You both must be very excited and def counting down the days, lol. You’ve certainly done the thinking & planning, now it’s just executing. Dn’t let anything stop you.

You’re friend Danny is correct, I train @ Manop (since Feb.) and has been my ‘home’ gym. I’ll be more than happy to show you around.

Also, before you leave, sign up for a free Charles Schwab checking/ATM card & account. They reimburse you for the 150baht / $5US ATM fees. YOu can link to your other banks via their website to xfer money, ie. chase. As for traveler CC’s, look @ Capital 1.